


A Soup-er Start to the Fall

by just_a_hungry_author



Series: The Autumn Colors Collection [1]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Chicken Soup, Clingy Kozume Kenma, Congestion, Coughing, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Flufftober 2020, Hurt/Comfort, Kozume Kenma & Kuroo Tetsurou Friendship, Kozume Kenma Needs a Hug, Kozume Kenma is a Good Friend, KuroKen Month, KuroKen Week, KuroKen Week 2020, Kuroo Tetsurou is a Good Friend, Lost Voice, Protective Kuroo Tetsurou, Sick Kozume Kenma, Sickfic, Sleepy Kozume Kenma, Sneezing, Sore throat, That doesn’t happen very often, Tired Kozume Kenma, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Whiny Kozume Kenma, Whump, Whumptober 2020, kenma-centric
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-23
Updated: 2020-09-23
Packaged: 2021-03-07 15:53:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,808
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26620195
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/just_a_hungry_author/pseuds/just_a_hungry_author
Summary: In which Kenma learns to accept his love of chicken soup....And maybe Kuroo, who knows?
Relationships: Kozume Kenma & Kuroo Tetsurou
Series: The Autumn Colors Collection [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1984900
Comments: 11
Kudos: 149





	A Soup-er Start to the Fall

**Author's Note:**

> Ahhhhhhh it’s the beginning of Fall! Fall vibes are elite and one of the absolute best things to write stories about! 
> 
> The changing seasons always seem to leave everyone a little sick (myself included), so I thought why not put Kenma through some hard times? 
> 
> Don’t worry though, I make it up to him with chicken soup 😉

It was a beautiful day in Tokyo. 

The sun was just rising over the horizon- 

"Achoo!" 

-warming the chilled autumn morning air-

"Achoo!" 

-and the birds were beginning their daily songs as students walked into school for the day.

"Achoo! Achoo!" 

"Bless you." Kuroo said with a smile, holding out a tissue. "That's your third round of sneezes today and we haven't even made it to school yet. Allergies?" 

Kenma took the offered tissue and wiped his nose. "Why are you counting my sneezes?" 

Kuroo didn't have a real answer for that. "Are you feeling okay?" 

"I'm fine." Kenma said, stuffing the tissue in his pocket. "I think it's just because of the seasons changing." 

"That does always seem to leave everyone a little sick, doesn't it?" 

"Yeah, I guess so."

That was three days ago. 

Now, Kenma was _definitely_ feeling more than a little sick. 

His sneezing and congestion had only increased as time went by, and he woke up that morning with not only his runny nose and sneezing, but a cough, sore throat, and an in-the-process-of-being-lost voice to go with it. 

He knew immediately that school would be rough, and practice would be a nightmare, but despite that he got dressed and stood outside his house like usual, waiting for Kuroo.

Kenma shivered against the chilled air, zipping up the thin jacket he had on. 

Then he pulled out his phone, but instead of starting a game like usual, he ended up just playing around with the home screen before stuffing it back in his pocket. 

The cold, dry air wasn’t helping his situation any, and he happened to be in the middle of a coughing fit when Kuroo walked up. 

The captain approached him with a frown. "You sound like you're getting worse." 

"I _feel_ like I'm getting worse."

This took Kuroo aback and it took him a moment to catch up to his thoughts. 

His first thought was that Kenma's voice was rough and thick, an unsettling change from the smooth quiet tones Kuroo was used to. 

The next was the fact that Kenma had practically admitted to being sick, and he rarely did that. 

He put a hand on the blonde's forehead. "Maybe you should stay home today." 

"I'm okay." Kenma said gruffly, waving Kuroo’s hand away. "Let's just go to school, alright?" 

"But you're sick. What about practice later? There's no way you're gonna be up for that." 

"I'll be fine. I've practiced for the last couple days and been perfectly alright." 

He had also knocked out as soon as his head hit the pillow for the past three nights after practice, but Kuroo didn't need to know that.

"Besides," he added, "I'm not really sick." 

"But-"

But Kenma had turned and started walking towards the train station, giving Kuroo no room to argue. 

Kuroo sighed. 

He just _had_ to become best friends with the stubborn one, didn't he?

The pair split ways once they arrived at school, being in different years and all, and Kenma trudged to his classes with a sigh. 

He really did wish he was at home, but he'd come too far to turn back now. 

In preparation for the day he'd stuffed a wad of tissues into his pocket and filled up a reusable water bottle to keep in his backpack, though in hindsight that didn't seem like it'd be enough. 

He felt absolutely awful. 

The first thing Kenma did when he sat down at his desk was put his head down- just for a few minutes while he waited for the teacher to begin, he'd reasoned- and before he knew it, he'd slept through class. 

It freaked him out a bit at first because he was _not_ that kind of student, but he managed to brush it off before his next class, which only served as a testament to how bad he was feeling.

Kenma had actually ended up sleeping through almost all of his morning classes, save for one with a particularly strict teacher, and lunch was quickly upon him. 

He joined the rest of the Nekoma team at their usual table, grimacing at the rowdiness of his classmates. 

God, he wanted to go back to sleep. 

When he'd arrived at the table Yamamoto was babbling on about something as usual.

"So I totally burnt the food right? The kid is wailing about missing dinner and the baby is still in the bathtub when- oh hey Kenma!" 

Lev turned and smiled at the blonde, who sat down with a sigh. "How's your cold been?" 

"Great." Kenma replied sarcastically. "Just great." 

Yaku frowned at the younger's frog-like voice. "You don't sound so good." 

"I'm fine." 

Unfortunately, he'd started coughing immediately after speaking.

"I don't think you are." Yaku replied when the coughing fit ended. "And you'll only get worse if you try to practice. It's Friday anyway, maybe you should-"

Right then Kuroo sat down at the table with a bright smile. "Hey guys! Did you see the latest issue of Jump?" 

Kenma gladly accepted the change in topic and buried his head in his lunch, though he was more playing with his food than eating it. 

He stayed silent as conversation at the table continued, not listening, and he nearly dozed off again. 

He was almost asleep, his heavy-lidded eyes slipping shut, when he suddenly smelled something absolutely _amazing_. 

He was surprised he could smell anything at all given how stuffed up he was, and when he opened his eyes he noticed the cloudiness in front of him.

Trailing the steam had led him to Kuroo, and he realized that the captain had opened a thermos from his bento box and was pouring it's contents into a bowl of rice. 

The steam had opened up Kenma's sinuses and given him some breathing room, and the smell was making his mouth water. 

He perked his head up, curious. “W-what's that?"

Kuroo turned his head to see Kenma staring at him with perhaps the largest puppy eyes he'd ever seen. 

"Oh, it's the chicken soup that my mom made for dinner last night." He replied. "I overslept this morning and didn't have any time to make anything different."

Kenma's eyes had drifted to the thermos now, and Kuroo raised an eyebrow. 

"Do you... want some?" 

Kenma hesitated, then shook his head. "No." 

"Are you sure?" Kuroo asked. "I don't mind." 

Kenma hesitated again, so Kuroo made an executive decision.

He grabbed Kenma's bowl of rice and started pouring some soup into it before sealing the thermos. 

"There. Try some." 

Kenma thanked him quietly and looked down at the bowl. 

He took a moment to breathe in the steam that was billowing out of it, trying to clear up his nose as best he could. 

Then he took a bite.

Kenma's mouth completely _exploded_ in flavor. 

The broth was peppery and rich, soothing the soreness of his throat with only one sip. 

The chicken, rice, potatoes, green beans, and corn the soup contained were also well-seasoned and delicious, actually making Kenma feel hungry for the first time since he'd acquired this cold.

He actually breathed out a sigh of relief at how good it made him feel. 

The soup was like a warm hug that melted all his troubles away. 

In fact, had it been possible, he would've melted into a puddle then and there, completely content and satisfied.

"So," Kuroo started, pulling Kenma out of his blissful trance. "What do you think?" 

Kenma cleared his throat in order to take a moment to compose himself.

"It's good." He replied in his usual nonchalant tone. "Better than I was expecting." 

Kuroo raised an eyebrow. "What's that supposed to mean?" 

"It just means what it means." 

On the contrary, Kenma had devoured the whole bowl in only a few minutes, and he wished he could swallow his pride enough to ask for more. 

With a sigh he decided to just let it go. 

He was feeling the tiniest bit better now, and hopefully that would be enough to push him through practice. 

Hopefully.

Kenma didn't see Kuroo again until the captain walked into the club room for practice.

He had greeted everyone with his signature smile and then walked over to start changing, but he frowned when he got near Kenma, who was in the middle of changing his shirt.

The blonde was shaking.

"Kenma, what's wrong?" 

"Nothing." 

"It's not nothing." Kuroo argued. 

He took a closer look at the younger's skin and managed to get a glimpse of the goosebumps running up and down his arms.

"Are you cold?"

Kenma pulled his practice shirt over his head. "No." 

"You're lying to me." 

"I really don't want to do this right now." 

"Well I do." Kuroo said, crossing his arms. "Are you cold?" 

"A little." Kenma sighed.

"You haven't gotten any better?" 

Kenma slowly shook his head and this time, Kuroo sighed.

"I really don't think you should practice today." 

"Kuroo-"

"Please don’t fight me on this." Kuroo started, putting a hand on Kenma's shoulder. "You're not feeling well, and it's Friday anyway. You should go home and rest so that you might feel better for Monday." 

Kenma frowned but nodded. 

He really didn't feel good at this point, and overexerting himself trying to play volleyball was the last thing he wanted to do. 

Kuroo got dressed in his own practice clothes as he watched Kenma get redressed in his school clothes. 

The blonde was about to pull his bag back over his shoulder when Kuroo stopped him. 

"Here, take my hoodie." 

Kenma hesitantly looked down at the ever-so-inviting article of clothing. "Are you sure? You might need it later, it's cold out." 

"You need it more than I do." Kuroo said. "No offense, but that thin jacket you have on isn't gonna do much for you." 

Kenma sighed again but took the offered hoodie. "Thanks." 

When he woke the next morning, Kenma felt even worse than the previous day.

As disgusting as it sounds, he felt like he was drowning in mucus. 

The pain in his chest and throat was at an all time high, and he could barely breathe with how stuffed up he was. 

He lay in bed for another twenty agonizing minutes wishing he would fall back asleep, but after realizing that probably wouldn't happen, he groaned and pulled out his phone to check the time.

It was barely seven and he could already tell that it would be a long, long day. 

When he finally managed to crawl out of bed, mostly because he needed to blow his nose, he realized that his parents weren't home. 

Not that he would have gone to them for help unless he truly needed it, but something about knowing he had to bear this illness on his own made him feel even worse.

Luckily for him, the universe had at least a finger stretched over to his side. 

He'd been in the middle of an impromptu nap when his phone started buzzing on the bed next to him. 

Without even opening his eyes, he'd managed to answer it and bring the phone to his ear. 

"...Hello?" He croaked. 

"Kenma?" Kuroo's voice said from the other side of the phone. "I can't see you." 

Realizing that this was a FaceTime and not a regular phone call, Kenma opened his eyes and moved the phone in front of his face.

"Woah, you look awful." 

"Thanks, Kuroo."

"Seriously." Kuroo continued. "I called last night after practice to see how you were doing but you didn’t answer me.” 

“I was probably sleeping.” 

“Are you okay?" 

"I'm fi-"

A harsh coughing fit erupted from Kenma's chest in that moment, and he decided to stop fighting it. 

Kuroo wasn't buying his charade anyway. 

"I... I don't feel good." 

"Clearly." Kuroo replied. "Symptoms, go." 

Kenma listed off his symptoms and Kuroo nodded. 

"Okay, I'll be there in half an hour." 

Kenma was back to sleep by the time Kuroo had made it to his house. 

The older had let himself into the house and made his way up to Kenma's bedroom, frowning when he caught sight of the blonde. 

"Oh, Kenma." 

Kenma was curled into himself, lips slightly parted because he was too congested to breathe through his nose. 

He was snoring slightly, and hadn't even stirred when Kuroo walked in.

The captain walked over to Kenma's bed and gently shook his shoulder. "Hey, wake up."

Kenma blinked wearily, confused. "Kuroo?" 

"It's me." Kuroo confirmed. "God, you look terrible." 

Kenma turned his head away and started coughing in response. 

"Don't worry, we're gonna get that fixed." 

Kuroo helped Kenma sit up and the younger furrowed his brow as he realized Kuroo was wearing a backpack.

"Do you feel strong enough to stand for a little while?" Kuroo asked. 

"Yeah, but what-?"

"Go take a hot shower." Kuroo interrupted. "For at least ten minutes. When you get out put on some warm clothes, okay? I'll be downstairs." 

Then he was out the door as quickly as he came, leaving Kenma alone in his room. 

Kenma just sighed and grabbed his towel, going to do what he was told. 

When Kenma made his way downstairs fifteen minutes later, Kuroo had a cluster of plastic bags sitting along the kitchen table. 

Kuroo had looked him up and down when he first entered the kitchen, judging his clothes, and had deemed Kenma's pajama pants and the borrowed hoodie from the previous day suitable. 

"Did the steam from the shower help clear up your chest?" He asked. 

"A little bit." Kenma replied thickly. "What are you doing?" 

"Setting up a nurse's office." Kuroo said. 

"In my kitchen?" 

"Yup." 

"You don't have to-" 

"I'm doing this because I want to." Kuroo interrupted. 

Kenma pulled a tissue out of the hoodie pocket and gave a few thick, congested sneezes.

Kuroo frowned. "You have to eat before you can take the medicine I brought. Is that okay?" 

"I don't know." Kenma replied, sitting down at the table. "I'm not really hungry." 

At Kuroo's disapproving look, he added a feeble, "I could try, I guess?" 

"Well I have some more of that soup from yesterday," Kuroo started, "Or I could make you-"

"The soup from yesterday." 

Kuroo turned. "That was a confident answer for someone who wasn't sure if they could eat a second ago. Why so eager?” 

"I'm not eager..." 

"You totally are." Kuroo said, smiling. "You loved it, didn't you?" 

"No,” Kenma replied petulantly. “I just think soup would help my throat." 

"I mean if you really don't want to eat right now I can make you tea, or you could go back to sleep and have some medicine later..." 

"The soup."

After a moment Kenma added a quiet, "...Please." 

Kuroo smiled again. "Sure." 

Kenma had already eaten a full bowl of soup and was steadily working on a second one when Kuroo sat down across from him. 

"I think this is the most I've ever seen you eat." Kuroo commented. 

Kenma, now in a state of pure bliss due to the meal in front of him, was past the point of acting careless.

He couldn’t help the way his heart had jumped to his throat when the soup was mentioned. 

"This is the best thing I've ever tasted." 

Kuroo chuckled, pleased that Kenma sounded a little clearer now. "Better than apple pie?" 

"Right now, yes." 

"I'll let my mom know, I'm sure she'll be happy to hear it." 

Kenma paused his eating for a moment, putting down his spoon.

"Kuroo... thanks for coming." 

"Yeah, of course. You need good company while you're sick, right?" 

"Who said you're good company?" Kenma asked, smirking. 

The mood had twisted so quick it nearly gave Kuroo whiplash, and he placed an offended hand on his chest. “Well maybe I'll just take my soup and leave." 

"You'll need to pry this soup away from my cold, dead hands." 

"Then I'll just take my medicine and popsicles and hoodie." 

"You brought popsicles?" Kenma asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Well you have a sore throat, right?" Kuroo started. "They'll help."

Kenma started eyeing the plastic bags nearby. "What else did you bring? You didn't go overboard, did you?" 

"Let's just say the drugstore might need to get a new shipment of products soon."

As he had said, Kuroo definitely did go overboard. 

He'd brought over every possible cold and flu remedy you could think of and then some. 

Unfortunately, they actually ended up using most of it. 

After finishing the soup, Kuroo had gotten Kenma to take some cough medicine.

He’d handed a bottle of water over at the blonde’s face of disgust, and told him to go sit on the couch while he cleaned up the kitchen. 

He entered the living room a few minutes later with tissues and cough drops in hand. 

Kenma lay curled up in the corner of the couch. 

"Do you wanna watch a movie?" 

Kenma shrugged. "I don't care." 

Kuroo grabbed a fluffy blanket and draped it over the younger before sitting down next to him. 

"We're gonna watch some Disney movies to take your mind off it." 

Kenma just nodded and positioned himself so his head was on Kuroo's shoulder. "Can I have a cough drop?" 

"Of course." Kuroo replied. "Only the best for my patient." 

He handed Kenma the bag and the blonde popped one of the cherry flavored lozenges in his mouth. "What movie are we watching?" 

"I was thinking Big Hero Six." 

Kenma playfully rolled his eyes. "You always want to watch Big Hero Six." 

"It's a good movie." 

"You just like it because you're a science nerd." 

"I thought you didn't care what we watched." 

"I don't."

"You're so mean to me." Kuroo pouted. 

Kenma chuckled for the first time since he'd gotten sick. "Put the movie on you dork." 

Kuroo didn't realize that Kenma had fallen asleep until a sticky, red, half-eaten cough drop landed on his jeans halfway through Big Hero Six. 

He looked down to see the blonde comfortably nestled against his shoulder, eyes closed and mouth hanging slightly open.

"Don't judge my movie choice if you're not gonna stay awake through it." Kuroo pouted affectionately. 

He used a tissue to pick up the cough drop and put it on the side table, then pulled the blanket up higher on Kenma's chest. 

He took a moment to feel the blonde's forehead, and Kenma's eyelashes fluttered a bit at the contact. 

Kuroo took his hand away, not wanting to disturb Kenma, but furrowed his eyebrows at the lack of heat. 

This seemed to be just a really bad cold, but Kuroo didn't think he'd ever seen Kenma get knocked down this hard. 

But then again, maybe it was just his turn to get taken down a peg. 

"Kuroo-"

"I'm coming, I'm coming." 

A string of coughs, then a weaker, rougher, "Kuroo-"

"I'm coming."

Kuroo reentered the living room, a mug of tea in one hand and a bright red popsicle in the other.

On the couch lay Kenma, curled up in a blanket and coughing harshly. 

"Kuroo-" He mumbled weakly. 

"I'm here, I'm here." Kuroo said, sitting down next to Kenma. "What do you want first? Tea or popsicle?" 

Kenma coughed again. "It hurts." 

"Okay, okay." Kuroo started. "Popsicle first." 

He unwrapped the frozen treat and handed it to Kenma, who took a bite immediately. 

Kuroo cringed. "Doesn't that hurt your teeth?" 

"Throat hurts." Kenma mumbled pitifully. 

"I know." Kuroo sighed. "Do you wanna watch another movie? It might help you take your mind off it." 

Kenma shrugged. "This sucks." 

"I know it does." Kuroo replied, wrapping an arm around Kenma's waist. "I'm sorry." 

"Don't be sorry." 

"If your throat is hurting that bad you really shouldn't be talking-"

"You came when I needed you." 

That cut Kuroo off from his planned lecture, and he smiled. "I'll always come when you need me." 

He ruffled Kenma's hair. "Now stop talking. I don't want to hear another peep out of you until your throat is better." 

"I-"

"Hey, no peeps!" 

Kenma rolled his eyes and pulled out his phone. 

A couple seconds later Kuroo's phone vibrated. 

_I get to pick the next movie._

"If I let you pick the movie will you actually stay awake this time?" 

_It's not my fault, I'm sick._

Kuroo chuckled, and then his phone vibrated again. 

_You'll be here when I wake up though, right?_

"Of course I will. I’m not going anywhere." 

_And you'll have more soup?_

"You'd rather have my soup than have me?" 

_I mean... it was some pretty good soup._

"I hate you." 

_Do not._

"Do too." 

Kenma put his phone down and lay down with his head in Kuroo's lap. "Do not." 

Kenma _did_ end up falling asleep during his choice of movie, and he slept for longer than he expected to. 

Before his impromptu naps had only lasted an hour at most. 

This time when he woke up, the sun was setting. 

He sat up on instinct and blearily rubbed at his eyes, confused. 

The tv was still on, though at a lower volume than it had been, and it wasn't on the movie he had selected. 

Now it was playing some Planet Earth documentary. 

Suddenly he sneezed and instinctively brought his elbow up to his mouth. 

He turned his head to grab a tissue, and then realized Kuroo wasn't on the couch anymore. 

At this realization he stood up and headed towards the kitchen, coughing. "Kuroo?" 

He found the captain in the kitchen, stirring something in a pot on the stove. 

Kuroo chuckled when Kenma walked in. "If I knew all it took to wake you up was getting up, I would've done it three hours ago." 

Kenma pouted, not acknowledging how childish the action was. "You weren't there when I woke up." 

"Listen, I waited as long as I could." Kuroo replied, laughing. "But I had to use the bathroom and you didn't seem like you were getting up any time soon." 

Kenma was still pouting, so Kuroo walked over and put an arm around his shoulders. "Hey, I'm sorry. I only left you on the couch, what? Five minutes ago? If you stayed asleep longer I would've come back." 

Kenma, embarrassment starting to creep in, shrugged him off. "I'm sorry. I'm being clingy." 

"I like Clingy Kenma." Kuroo replied. "He's cute." 

Kenma sat down at the table with a yawn. "What time is it?" 

"A little past seven." Kuroo replied. "My mom brought over more soup, do you want some?" 

"Of course I do." 

Kuroo walked back over to the pot he'd been stirring and poured some of the soup into a bowl before placing it in front of Kenma. 

"Thank you." Kenma said. 

"No problem." 

"No, thank you for _everything_." 

"Oh please." Kuroo started. "I love spending time with Clingy Kenma."

**Author's Note:**

> Will I ever write a Kuroken story without a “Do not” “Do too” argument? Probably not. 
> 
> Please comment if you enjoyed, reading them makes my day! 
> 
> I have more Fall stories in the works so if you’re interested, please stick around!


End file.
